Life Molecules

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Life Molecules

The 4 Molecules of Life

←Carbohydrate, Protein, Lipids, Nucleic Acid→

Carbohydrates

  • Function--provide the body with energy
  • Fuel for the cells
  • Monosaccaride
    • monomer-1 molecule (simple)
    • (simple sugars)- contain C,H, and O in a 1:2:1
    • most common- Frutose (sweetest), galactose (milk), and glucose (fuel for cells)
    • isomer- same chemical formula but different structural formula
  • Dissaccaride
    • when two monosaccharides combine in condensation reaction to form double sugar
    • Fructose+glucose= sucrose (table sugar)
    • condensation/dehydration: link smaller molecule together to make a larger molecule
  • Polysaccaride
    • complex molecule composed of 3 or more monosaccharides
      • 1). Glycogen consists of hundreds of glucose molecules!
      • 2). STARCH...plant cell walls= Starch
        • polymer ex) starch, glycogen, cellucose
      • 3). Hydrolysis- water is added to break a polymer into a monomer

Proteins

  • Polymer that is made up from 20 different monomers. Proteins are the primary component of numerous body tissues.
  • Function--help build muscle mass
    • ex) fish, meats, eggs, nuts
  • a). Amino Acids
    • Function-building blocks of protein
    • structure- contains functional groups- carboxyl (COOH) and Amino (NH2)
    • Pepetide Bond- the covalent bond that forms when two amino acids are linked together (Dehydration reaction)
      • The shape of a protein is crucial
  • b). Enzymes
    • Function- increase the rate of a chemical reaction by lowering the activation energy (amount of energy needed to start a rxn)
      • role- Act as catalysts- speed up chemical reactions without being consumed

Lipids

  • Function- builds cell membrane
  • a). Fatty Acids
    • The building blocks of lipid
    • functional group- carboxyl group (COOH)
    • foods high in fat- potato chips (snack foods), oils, peanut butter, fried food
      • generally, animal fat is bad fat, plant fat is a healthy fat unless used excessively
        • Healthiest fats to unhealthiest
          • 1). unsaturated
          • 2). saturated
          • 3). polysaturated
          • 4). trans fat
  • b). Steroids
    • 4 fused carbon rings with different functional groups
      • ex) cholesterol
    • wax- long fatty acid chain joined to an alchoholic molecule


Nucleic Acid
  • large, complex organic molecule
  • stores important information for the cell
    • ex). DNA= deoxyribonucleic acid- contains info essential for cell activities
    • *has three part
      • 1). phosphate group
      • 2). sugar
      • 3). nitrogenous base (A)
  • a). RNA
    • ribonucleic acid
    • stores and transfers info for making proteins

*FUNCTIONAL GROUPS
- the non-hydrocarbon part of the molecule
- clusters of atoms that influence the properties of the molecules they compose.
-amino group= -NH2 (+COOH=protein)
-Hydroxyl group= -OH (Alcohol)
-Carboxyl group= -COOH (fatty acid)



PROPERTIES OF CARBON
  • An element's properties are determined by the electrons in the outermost shell
  • Carbon based molecules are organic compounds
  • four covalent bonds
  • have four valence electrons in a shell that holds eight**

Pictures
Carbon molecule-
properties of carbon.bmp

Amino Acids
amino acid.bmp

Click on the Hyperlink to see an animation


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